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California Expected to Set Mandatory Water Curbs

Reservoirs' Water Levels Have Fallen to Less Than Half Their Capacities

California is poised to institute mandatory statewide water restrictions for the first time, as the impacts of a three-year drought continue to spread across the Golden State. WSJ's Jim Carlton reports. (Photo: Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO—California is poised to institute mandatory statewide water restrictions for the first time, as the impact of a three-year drought continues to spread across the Golden State.

The emergency measure expected to be approved Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board comes as reservoirs in California and elsewhere in the West have shriveled amid one of the worst droughts on record to hit the region. California's Lake Oroville, for example, now stands at 39% of capacity, while Nevada's Lake Mead, which...